Shuddhis

Before doing Sadhana, one has to do Shuddhis, whose scriptural nomenclature is Diipanii or Diipa Jinana.

Bhuta denotes the expressed world. Man has got a world related to himself, which he thinks of as his own world.

When they address the world as their own world, they:

• term themselves in the possessive case and
• get themselves related with the external world.

The world can also address them as its own.

In that case, the world happens to be in possessive case and gets related with men.

Thus, there is a mutual relationship.

One will have to detach oneself from this relationship during the period of Sadhana.

Otherwise mind will remain attached to external objectivities. The world is an external physicality. Your body also forms a part of the same.

Yet your ‘mine‑ness’ towards your body is more than what it is for the door or for any other external objectivity.

Your bone is also a physical object but the ‘mine‑ness’ attached to the bones of your body is more than what it is for any external bone.

Sit in Dhyanasana.

It shall enable the Susumna Kanda (Vertebral column) to remain in proper position, so that the passage of Kula‑Kundalinii is clear for Her elevation.

Generally, Padmasana is the prescribed Asana for Pranidhana.

Why has it been called Padmasana? If you put the lotus (Padma) in water, it shall have no adjustment with water.

• Drops of water remain moving on its petals.

Put the lotus in water and take it out, water shall fall down, having no effect on the petals.

You are also living in this world, living amongst the losses and gains, struggles and conflicts. You are within the scope of so many impurities.

Just as the lotus emerges from the dirty water, yet remains unaffected with its petals facing upwards, you have also to remain unassailed inspite of the fact that you are also living in the impurities of the world.

As such, when you keep your body and mind in such a position that the mundane impurities do not assail them, though they are very much in this world, that particular position is known as Padma’sana.

In this very sense, it has been called as Padmasana; not that it looks like Padma, rather sitting in this posture inculcates the qualities of Padma.

The posture will enable the Susumna Kanda to be in such a position that the mind remains unassailed like a lotus. Now you have to perform the Shuddhis.

Bhuta Shuddhi is the first item.

The universe extending and existing outside your physical structure is your external physicality to which your mind is attached.

Your mind is more attached to your internal physical, that is the physical body, and still more is your attachment to your mental objects, your mental thoughts.

These are the 3 bondages of the human mind.

All space, extending beyond, consists of different celestial bodies of which everyone is connected with the other through the force of mutual attraction and not repulsion.

I have spoken several times, “attraction is the law of nature and not repulsion. Repulsion is negative attraction, but attraction is never negative repulsion.”

You are sitting, now you have to think that you are sitting on any of the celestial bodies, stars, planets, satellites.

All are celestial bodies and none of them, while existing in the space is sheltered in the other. These celestial bodies are not circular, rather elliptical or oval.

According to some, the earth is elliptical, and to others it is orange‑like, pressed at the north and south.

But the best is to accept that earth is of ethereal shape. It has no simile.

It is of ethereal shape, more or less like an egg. Scriptures have, therefore, described it as Brahmanda, meaning “Anda” (egg) associated with Brahma.

Brahma has created many Andas, which you call Brahmanda.

You are sitting on one of the celestial bodies, which is nearest and dearest to you.

• All the celestial bodies and expressed universe are extending before you towards which your mind is flowing.

You have to withdraw your mind.

Withdrawal means, you are not thinking of them from which you have withdrawn.

Think, “I am the singular entity in this universe”

As a consequence, your mind will get withdrawn from the external physicalities.

Thus, you have withdrawn your mind from the first bondage.

This withdrawal from the external physical is called Bhuta Shuddhi.

But the second bondage is stronger.

If somebody’s finger is cut, you show sympathy and forget it. But when yours is cut, you are extremely sorry for a few days, at times you weep over it.

Throughout your life, you shall recall it by saying, “it was in that press that my finger was cut.”

You have to withdraw your mind from this object (internal physical) for which your mind has strong attraction.

Ajina Cakra:

• is the seat of mind
• also controls the mental flow

The portion of your body which is nearer to this Cakra commands more “mine‑ness” compared to those which are comparatively farther.

The feeling of hatred is more when your hands have contacted some dirty thing than when your feet do.

You wash your legs and forget it, having no impression of impurity within.

But the impression stays longer if the same had happened with your hands, and still more if your face is involved. Why?

It is only because of the proximity of latter portions to the Ajina Cakra.

The mine‑ness which you feel for legs is less than what you feel for the hands. The feeling of mine‑ness increases with the increasing proximity of the portion of the body to Ajina Cakra.

The farthest point in your body is the toe.

Of course, the feeling of mine‑ness exists there as well, since you feel it to be the toes of your feet.

Bring your mind at both the toes, and start withdrawing joint‑wise, upwards.

The moment your mine‑ness is at the knees, you have withdrawn your mind from the lower portions. After your withdrawal from the lower joints, come to the controlling point of Muladhara Cakra, which controls, all the Ksiti‑Tattva of your physical body.

The central point of the rectangle controls Ksiti‑Tattva of your physical body. The central point of the rectangle controls Ksiti Tattva.

The moment you are here, you have withdrawn yourself from the legs.

Withdraw further to the controlling point of Apa‑Piitha (the position of this point has already been discussed in the chapter on Shaoca).

The nucleus point of Apa‑Piitha controls all the liquid material (urine, blood, semen etc.) of your body.

Prior to this, you have established control over all the solid factors (bones, flesh etc.) of your body by withdrawing at the controlling point of Muladhara, which controls all the Ksiti Tattva of your entire structure, from head to feet.

But the control on heart shall be established only when you have withdrawn yourself to the controlling point of Apa‑Piitha, since heart is concerned with blood, which is a liquid factor.

You have withdrawn to the controlling point of Apa‑Piitha, and have established control over the Apa‑Tattva, just as you had established control of Ksiti‑Tattva by withdrawing to the controlling point of Muladhara.

Now, withdraw yourself to the controlling point of Tejas Tattva. It is situated at the centre of the Nabhi (navel) Cakra which is triangular in shape.

Withdraw to the centre of Anahata, whose Piitha (seat) lies in the Karnika of the Anahata Cakra. The shape of this Piitha is a hexagon. But its smoky colour makes it appear as circular in shape.

In reference to this Cakra it has been said, “Yam’ biijam’ pavanam’ dhya’yet varttulam shya’malaprabham’”.

Akasha Tattva (ethereal factor) lies over it.

Its Piitha lies within the Karnika of the Akasha Cakra.

Since Akasha (Vishuddha) Piitha is ethereal, it is difficult to give it a shape.

It is formless and can not be given a particular colour.

• It is therefore, multi‑coloured ‑ “Ham’ biijam’gaganam’ dhya’yet nira’ka’ram’ bahuprabham’”.

Its controlling point lies at the vocal cord.

At the moment you are dealing with Asana Shuddhi.

Asana implies “Sthirasukhama’sanam.”

A state in which you can sit calmly without movement, without stir, and with a mental composure, is called Asana.

Herein, body and mind are in complete rest and the mind in complete composure.

While doing Asana Shuddhi, therefore, at every controlling point of your withdrawal, you are to have “Sthirasukham”, and then withdraw up.

Do not do it in a hurry without experiencing a physico‑psychic composure at every point of your withdrawal.

While withdrawing up to Muladhara, you are having two points of concentration, simultaneously, but from the Muladhara, upwards you have only one, at a time.

The portion of the body, situated between Muladhara and neck, is known as Kabandha (or trunk).

Headless body is called Kabandha, in Samskrta.

Kabandha has 4 joints:

• one with legs
• two with the hands
• the fourth one with the neck

Due to excessive friction at three of these joints (excluding the area joined with the neck) frictional heat is generated, hair is located here on these joints to absorb it.

Those who practise Asana must not cut this hair.

The controlling points of the 5 Mahabhutas (fundamental factors) lie within the trunk, they cannot be without.

The lowermost is Muladhara, and the uppermost is Vishuddha.

These Cakras lie on the Susumna Kanda and are treated as lotuses with their petals either facing upward, downward, front or backward (details will be dealt with in the chapter of Dha’ran’a’ and Dhya’na).

The limbs have no Cakra within them.

That is why, even when limbs are cut and separated from the trunk, a man remains alive. But he cannot remain alive if any of the Cakras (Ks’iti, Apa, Teja, Marut or A’ka’sha) are separated from the body.

Suppose Muladhara has been separated.

The controlling point of the Muladhara‑Piit’ha controls the solid factors (bones, flesh, etc.) of the entire body and thereby maintains the solidarity of the structure.

The moment this point is separated from the body, then control over the solid factors will be lost, solidarity will not be maintained, and the man will die.

Why then does a man die if his head is chopped off?

The function of the Indriyas (motor and sensory organs) involves 2 aspects: ordering and perceiving through efferent and afferent nerves.

You order, then only your eyes perceive, otherwise they do not.

For example, while you are going on the road and you are mentally busy in some thought, although you may come across some acquainted person who is passing by before your eyes, you may not have seen him even though you might have looked at him.

You did look at him, but since your look had not got the support of your mind, you still could not see him. You looked, but you did not see. There is a great difference between the phenomenon of looking and seeing.

Generally you look at an elephant with the Maha’vat, but you see only the elephant.

The seat of the Jinanendriyas lies in the head and that of the Karmendriya in the trunk.

But the activation of the Karmendriyas depends upon the orders `conveyed through the efferent nerves’.

It is only when the mind conveys the orders through these nerves that hands will work or eyes will see.

These ordering points lie in Lalana Cakra, situated in the different parts of the mouth and face.

When the head is detached, these ordering points are also detached along with it, and the Indriyas cannot work.

Secondly, the controlling point of mind, the pituitary gland, is also situated in the head, without which no order can be conveyed.

Thirdly, the position of Sahasra’ra Cakra also lies in the head, Sahasra’ra being the seat of A’tma’,its detachment means detachment of A’tma’, without which life can not exist.

As such, though head is not directly associated with the controlling centres of Tattvas situated in the trunk, the man dies when the head is detached from the body.

You have reached the Vishuddha Cakra, and thereafter you shall come to the A’jina’ Cakra straight away (those who have an idea of Lalana’ Cakra, may reach Ajina Cakra after performing A’sana Shuddhi at the same also).

Ajina is the controlling point of the conscious mind, where you have withdrawn your mind from internal physicality.

This point (the controlling point of A’jina’) controls the conscious directly, subconscious indirectly and unconscious still more indirectly.

Subconscious and unconscious have their separate controlling points, but are indirectly controlled by this point as well. There is no external point to control the subconscious and unconscious.

(In the Sa’dhana’ of Vishes’a Yoga, the control is affected through some particular controlling points. But there is no external practice, outside the body to do it.)

The controlling point of the unconscious mind lies at the back.

But Sadhana at the back side is completely banned, since it leads to death.

When the mind has been withdrawn to the Ajina, it has been withdrawn from the internal physicality and also a control on the conscious mind has been established.

But still the subconscious can deviate you and unwanted thoughts can peep into your mind.

You have to throw off these thoughts.

You will find that after concentration on Ajina for a while, mind will enter the subconscious automatically, though not the unconscious (for the unconscious you have a separate process of Dhyana).

Though your mind has come to the Ajina, still the mind can never be objectless, and the internal psychic is still active.

You have caused the psychic annihilation of the external physicalities by Bhutta Shuddhi, of the internal physicality by Asana Shuddhi.

Since the external psychic cannot exist without the external physical, with the annihilation of latter, the former one is automatically annihilated.

But the internal psychic still remains to be controlled.

Internal psychic implies those ideas which are concerned with the physical.

They persist even after the psychic annihilation of the external physical, internal physical and external psychic.

Hence, you have to ideate, that “I exist within an unlimited and infinite Entity”.

You can accomplish this ideation by taking the mind farther, farther and farther away.

Within 10-15 seconds you shall find no object.

Nothing becomes the object. Something has been transformed into nothing.

“That which you cannot think of, conceive of,” becomes your object. Ideate within, “I am within an entity, an entity all around me, and an entity whom I cannot fathom”.

This is known as Citta Shuddhi.

The entity in which you are existing now as a point, is your object.

But you must have an association with Him, otherwise you will get detached.

The association is always through a name and form.

You have conceived Him as an ocean which you cannot fathom. How shall you establish the association through a name?

Your association with Him through your Ista Mantra is the establishment of your association in reference to a name.

Ista means the most loving, and Ista Mantra means the Mantra which is most dear to you.

Ista Mantra will associate you with Him through a name.

How is the association through form (Ru’pa’tmaka) established?

This is done through the ideation of an entitative relationship.

“Myself and my Paramatma’” you are uttering it through your Ista Mantra.

Simultaneously, think over “He is mine, He is mine, and mine alone, He is my personal property. I will not allow anybody to enter and interfere within me and my Paramatma’.

I will get Him, I must get Him. I will catch hold of Him with all the strength in me. My Lord! I will not leave Thee. I will rush up to Thee and get hold of Thee and Thee alone”. You will have to run to Him with this intense psychic ideation.

As a consequence, your mind will get elevated, since the actual abode of Parama Purusa lies in Sahasrara.

At that moment there will be an intense psychic ideation. As a consequence, your mind will get elevated, since the actual abode of Parama Purus’a lies in Sahasra’ra. The moment there will be an intense urge to catch hold of Him, mind will go up towards Sahasra’ra. Consequently, there shall be a vacuum in the Sus’umna’ Ka’n’d’a and Kula Kundalinii will automatically rise up, just as water rises in the tube‑well.

You will find with several persons that they have their different glands and plexii more active.

As a consequence, even after achieving control over the conscious mind, when they sit for practising Sa’dhana’, their mind gets shifted to these particular glands or plexii, and the Sa’dhana’ gets disturbed. There is no physical reason behind it. The reason is na’ma’tmaka or Shabda’tmaka (associated with name).

It is the same secret cause on which the Is’t’a Mantra is determined, since every plexus has its own controlling sound ‑ Lam’, Vam’, Ram’, Yam’, Ham’, T’ham’: ‑

Lam’ biija’m’ dharan’iim’ dhya’yet caturasra’m’ supiita’bha’m Vam’ biijam’ va’run’am’ dhya’yet arddhacandram’ shashiprabham Ram’ biijam’ shikhinam’ dhya’yet trikon’am arun’aprabham Yam’ biijam’ pavanam’ dhya’yet varttulam’ shya’malaprabham Ham’ biijam’ gaganam’ dhya’yet nira’ka’ram’ bahuprabham.

In case Is’t’a Cakra happens to be other than A’jina’, how will you bring the mind to that point?

If you go down internally, the control established at the A’jina’, Lalana’ or other Cakras through which you are coming down to your Is’t’a Cakra, shall get disturbed. This means that the control from the conscious and subconscious has been completely destroyed, and one cannot do Sa’dhana’ in such a state. As such, when you have to come down from A’jina’ to your Is’t’a Cakra, come down externally, let the mind come out (psychically) from the A’jina’ and be seated on the Is’t’a Cakra. It must not be done internally, i.e. within the body.

Allotment of Is’t’a Cakra to a Sa’dhaka is always done at Ana’hata and above and not below Ana’hata, since Muladhara, Svadhisthana are static‑dominated and Man’ipura is mutative, but is always being affected by the Static Principle. (I have made the formulae for the determination of Is’t’a‑Cakra).

N.B.: You know that all physical expressions are controlled by Ham’, it being the controlling point of A’ka’sha‑Tattva, and the controlling point of mind is T’ham’. Ham’ is affected by Su’rya Na’d’ii (Piungala’) and T’ham is affected by Candra Na’d’ii (Id’a’). When there is an endeavour to establish control over mind (T’ham’) by appliance of physical force (Ham’) with the help of mental power, it is Hat’ha Yoga; since he is controlling “T’ha” with the help of “ha” and “T’ha” whereas the Sa’dhana’ should be done with the help of “Tha” and “T’ha” alone.